Director: Gene Fowler Jr.
Year: 1957
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Werewolf
Plot:
Always in trouble with the law, a teenage delinquent decides to try curing his anger issues by using an experimental therapy treatment from a local doctor involving a special serum that turns him into a ravenous werewolf and begins running wild on the community, forcing them to stop him.
Review:
This was a pretty enjoyable genre effort. One of the better elements present here is the strong starting point, offering a great way of integrating the teen-centered fare with more genre-focused material. As the first half sets everything up about just what type of figure he really is where him getting into trouble for fighting others due to a hair-trigger temper, being brash and outspoken with the adults around town who he believes are trying to control him, acting fine with friends until it’s time to be confrontational, and the sense of entitlement at bucking the system that comes about due to these behaviors, we get a sense of who he is quite nicely. With the whole thing portraying him as a misunderstood bad-boy who wants what he wants and isn’t afraid of upsetting the establishment to get it, this type of cool factor makes for a wholly intriguing setup where he comes off as right the whole time as the type of charismatic hero to appeal to a similar type of viewers out there.
As well, the connections with him and his friends that carry on the police investigation make for a great time here. The rest of the friend group is portrayed with the kind of cool factor, showing them hanging out at the local diner singing, dancing, or being with their girlfriends, which gives everything a generally great touch before adding in the different investigative measures put in place to figure out who’s behind the series of sightings along the way. From the first attack on the hiker out in the woods to a stellar stalking scene on a gymnast in a closed-off gym involving the werewolf transforming, hunting down the clueless student, and escaping into the wild after everything attracts the attention of others nearby, there’s some immensely fun sequences here offering the kind of cheesy action involving the creature taking out those around him. Leading nicely into the great finale with the townspeople roaming through the woods trying to capture him as he tries to stay one step ahead of them, while shown alongside the ramifications of the experiment that started everything, this one comes off with some enjoyable enough factors to have a lot to like.
There are some drawbacks to be had here that bring it down slightly. The main element to be had here is the film's decision to turn the transformation agent away from the Full Moon into the result of a mad doctor’s strange and peculiar experiment with a mysterious serum as part of his studies. This still keeps everything as a curse, but to tie everything to the result of a strange experiment that renders a lot of the usual traits of the genre moot is a curious point, with no night-time stalking, with everything taking place in broad daylight, and turning whenever he wants. It’s a strange way to include the character in this kind of setup, as it doesn’t allow for much real connection to what’s actually going on, making for a generally odd time at points, trying to imagine that’s normal content in this style. As well, there are also the brief bits involving the cheap and cheesy effects, which do manage to bring this one down overall.
Overview: ****/5
A rather exciting teen-centered werewolf tale, there’s quite a lot to like with this one that manages to keep this one going along nicely over a few minor drawbacks that don’t harm this one that much. Those with an interest in this kind of feature, are huge fans of the approach taken here, or enjoy the creative crew, will have a lot to like here, while most others out there might want to heed caution.
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